PEA employee arrested for Koh Larn electrical cable fires

“I’m innocent.” Officials lead away Prayong Thongdeewong after charging him with two acts of vandalism that cost the city as much as 30 million baht each.

Boonlua Chatree

Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations arrested a Provincial Electrical Authority employee for allegedly twice burning an electrical cable linking Koh Larn with the mainland.

Prayong Thongdeewong, 49, was arrested in Kanchanaburi after DSI investigators alleged he worked with fuel companies that supplied the generators Koh Larn used for power before the 300 million baht underwater electrical cable was completed in 2009. Those companies, investigators said, lost a major revenue stream and twice hired Prayong - in March 2010 and January 2011 - to torch the cable in order to again supply the island with diesel fuel.

Each act of vandalism took a month and 30 million baht to repair, Pattaya officials said at an Oct. 7 press conference.

Prayong denied the charges, saying has witnesses that can verify he was working at PEA offices at the time of the two fires and that he continued for work for PEA for two months after the 2011 blaze without suspicion. DSI officials alleged Prayong worked with an accomplice to set the fires.

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